The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society

Edited by Michael Edwards

Description

In the past two decades, '"civil society" has become a central organizing concept in the social sciences. Occupying the middle ground between the state and private life, the civil sphere encompasses everything from associations to protests to church groups to nongovernmental organizations. Interest in the topic exploded with the decline of statism in the 1980s and 1990s, and many of our current debates about politics and social policy are informed by the renewed focus on civil society. Michael Edwards, author of the most authoritative single-authored book on civil society, serves as the editor for The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society. Broadly speaking, the book views the topic through three prisms: as a part of society (voluntary associations), as a kind of society (marked out by certain social norms), and as a space for citizen action and engagement (the public square or sphere). It does not focus solely on the West (a failing of much of the literature to date), but looks at civil society in both the developed and developing worlds. Throughout, it merges theory, practice, and empirical research. In sum, The Oxford Handbook on Civil Society will be the definitive work on the topic.

The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society

Edited by Michael Edwards

Author Information

Michael Edwards is currently Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos in New York, Senior Visiting Scholar at the Robert F Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the Brooks World Poverty Institute at Manchester University in the UK. He is also the former Senior Advisor to World Bank on Civil Society and the former Director of the Ford Foundation's Governance and Civil Society Program.

The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society

Edited by Michael Edwards

Reviews and Awards

"This Oxford Handbook of Civil Society, happily, comes in well under $200, is spectacularly readable, and clearly earns every penny in both price and packaging. ... Michael Edwards, its editor, has taken on the daunting task over the past few decades of actually trying to understand one of the slipperiest ideas social scientists and philosophers have employed over the past few centuries. Edwards has written clearly on the subject, has funded research and action to enhance this understanding, and in this volume, calls upon a talented network of his colleagues to illuminate the civil society concept in a remarkable display of good sense and intellectual persuasion."--Jon Van Til, Rutgers University, for VOLUNTAS

"The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society presents a kaleidoscope of views...The entries are concise and well-written, focusing on major issues of contention in academic debate, thus providing ideal readings for classes and for introduction to the topic."--CHOICE